An 18-year-old woman died after the courtyard of her house collapsed and she fell into a nearly 25-foot-deep abandoned borewell in Kanpur’s Purwami village under Maharajpur police station on Friday morning. She was rescued after nearly seven hours but was declared dead at the Sarsaul community health centre (CHC).
The incident occurred around 6:40 am when Yashi Savita, the youngest of four sisters, was stepping out of the bathroom after taking a bath. The ground beneath her suddenly gave way, causing her to fall into the abandoned borewell.
Her elder sister witnessed the fall and alerted their parents. The family initially tried to rescue Yashi by lowering a rope, but continued soil collapse caused her to slip further. They then informed the police.
A PRV 112 reached the spot around 6.55 am, followed by local police at 7.15 am. Fire brigade personnel arrived around 8.15 am and an NDRF team reached at 8.40 am. The rescue operation began around 9.25 am.
As the collapsed area was considered unstable, rescuers decided to dig alongside the borewell and approach Yashi from the side. Around 60 personnel from the NDRF, SDRF, fire brigade, PAC, revenue department and along with local police, the ACP Chakeri office, IGL and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) took part in the operation, with JCB and Pokland excavators used for digging.
By afternoon, the teams had excavated around 24 feet and reached Yashi.
NDRF deputy commandant Naveen Sharma said the rescue operation was completed after the teams reached Yashi and brought her out. “She was pulled out unconscious and taken to CHC Sarsaul,” he said.
Dr Dipendra Uttam said Yashi was brought to the health centre around 2.43 pm. She was examined for about 10 minutes but was found not breathing and was declared dead.
According to the family, the borewell had been dug inside the house around three years ago but was abandoned after no water was found. A floor was later built over it. The family suspects continuous rainfall weakened the soil around the borewell, leading to the collapse.
Yashi was the youngest of four sisters and lived with her parents, three sisters and brother. Her father Vinod is a daily-wage labourer. As the rescue operation continued, her mother Rekha Devi and siblings remained at the spot, while a large crowd gathered outside the house. Local officials and public representatives, including assembly speaker’s representative Surendra Awasthi, also reached the village.
